Harvard John A. Paulson School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences
ELECTRICAL & Computer ENGINEERING SEMINAR

Friday, September 11

2 - 3pm
Pierce 209

 
"Silicon Photonics for LiDAR Sensors, Augmented Reality, Biophotonics, Quantum Engineering, and Beyond"
Jelena Notaros
Robert J. Shillman (1974) Career Development Associate Professor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Abstract: By enabling the integration of millions of micro-scale optical components on compact millimeter-scale computer chips, silicon photonics is positioned to enable next-generation optical technologies that facilitate revolutionary advances for numerous fields spanning science and engineering. An emerging class of silicon-photonics systems is integrated optical phased arrays (OPAs), which enable manipulation and dynamic control of free-space light in a compact form factor, at low costs, and in a non-mechanical way. This talk will highlight our work on developing novel OPA-based platforms, devices, and systems that enable innovative chip-based solutions to high-impact problems in areas including LiDAR sensors for autonomous vehicles, augmented-reality displays, free-space optical communications, optical trapping for biophotonics, 3D printing, and trapped-ion quantum engineering.
 

Speaker Bio: Professor Jelena Notaros is the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from MIT in 2020 and 2017, respectively, and B.S. degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2015. Notaros was one of three Top DARPA Risers, a 2018 DARPA D60 Plenary Speaker, a 2023 NSF CAREER Award recipient, a 2026 AFOSR Young Investigator Award recipient, a 2026 SRC Young Faculty Award recipient, a 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Listee, a 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 All Star, a 2021 MIT Robert J. Shillman Career Development Chair recipient, a 2020 MIT RLE Early Career Development Award recipient, a 2015 MIT Herbert E. and Dorothy J. Grier Presidential Fellow, a 2015-2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellow, a 2024 OSA CLEO Highlighted Talk Award recipient, a 2019 OSA CLEO Chair's Pick Award recipient, a 2022 OSA APC Best Paper Award recipient, a 2022 OSA FiO Emil Wolf Best Paper Award Finalist, a 2014 IEEE Region 5 Paper Competition First Place recipient, a 2018 EECS Rising Star, a 2015 CU Boulder Chancellor's Recognition Award recipient, a 2025 MIT SoE Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Teaching Excellence recipient, and a 2023 MIT EECS Louis D. Smullin Award for Teaching Excellence recipient, among other honors.